Sunday, December 21, 2008

Ok, well basically we are still waiting on news about our case. We are struggling with the fact that we are once again at Christmas time and our daughter is not home. We continue to receive word that families with our adoption agency are bringing their children home but yet our case still sits. While we are so happy for those families that will get to spend Christmas with their child, we want to jump up and down and yell and scream that LIFE IS NOT FAIR, IT IS JUST NOT FAIR but that won't do us any good. Wayne and I believe that God's hand is in this adoption and while we don't understand the delay and may never understand it we continue to have faith that it will all work out. We struggle with bitterness, anger, disappointment, sadness, depression, and just being numb about the whole situation but still maintain our faith that God is in control. We also believe in miracles and are praying for a miracle in our case. The latest news we heard is that our case may now have to go through the judicial process instead of PGN which could take up to another year. We don't know if this is true or not because nobody can seem to get our attorney to release any information about our case. We ask that you all keep us in your prayers and join us in praying for a miracle. We can promise you that God will get all the glory for Madison coming home. On a better note, we did receive an email from the foster family and Madison is doing great. She is healthy and working on getting all of her teeth. They also told us that they received the packages we sent about a month ago and were excited to see all the clothes for her. They plan on sending pictures soon, I will post some as soon as we receive them.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

We are still waiting for more news about our case. The latest information is that our case will more than likely have to move to a judicial hearing instead of being approved by the PGN. We do not know exactly what this means or if this is true. There is such a communication gap with our attorney and our agency that we don't really trust any information we get to be 100% correct. All we know is that there is the most precious little girl you will ever meet in a foster home in Guatemala who Wayne and I have fallen in love with. We have asked God to please allow us to be her parents and are trusting that he will move mountains to let that happen. It is so hard to face yet another Christmas without her home but we have to hold onto our faith and believe that God's plan is in place and his plans are always the right way to go. We would not have made it this far in this journey without our faith. We know for a fact that Guatemala is processing cases and that everyday children are going home with their families. We rejoice with all of the other families and hold onto the hope that someday soon we will be bringing Madison home.

While we wait for Madison we are loving our treasured time with Jacob. I would not change this time with him for anything in the world. Jacob was not in our plans but he is just exactly what Wayne and I needed. It is so amazing how God works wonders when you least expect them. We are so thankful that God allowed us to be his parents. He is such a precious little boy who is full of life and lights up any room he is in.

Please pray that we have some confirmed news about our adoption case and that we get some updated information on Madison's well being. We want to thank everyone who reads this blog for your support and prayers. We ask that you join us in thanking God for Jacob. He is a true blessing.

Monday, November 17, 2008

We still have no news about our adoption We seem to get news on a weekly basis that other cases are moving forward and other families are bringing their children home but for whatever reason we don't get any information on our case. We sent several small boxes of clothes to the foster family for Madison and are hoping that when they receive them they will send us an email with an update on how she is doing. Wayne and I just ask for your continued prayers about the adoption and for us to remain positive. While we wait on news about Madison we continue to be amazed by Jacob. We are so blessed to have him and can't believe he is growing up so fast.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Wayne and I are still waiting on news that Madison's adoption will be approved by PGN. We ask that you please keep praying for some good news and that she can come home very soon. It has been a very long year and a half waiting for her to come home.

Wow, we can't believe that Jacob is alrady 6 months old. We are still amazed that we even have him. I remember back in Septemer 07 when I first found out. I did not believe the test or the next three after that. I still had trouble believing the doctors office when they confirmed the pregnancy. Wayne and I were in total shock and amazement at our true miracle. It was a long 9 months of wonder, worry, and excitement. On April 30, 2008 at 7:41 pm we finally were able to meet our little miracle in person. I still look at him and am amazed at how God has blessed us with him and how much more I love him with each day.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

On Thursday a group of us got together for a playdate/Halloween party with our kids. It was so much fun to see them all in their costumes. After the party Jacob and I headed out to buy a pumpkin. Here are some pictures of him with the pumpkins.

Then I couldn't resist the using the pumpkins as props for some pictures of him in his Halloween costume. As you can tell he is Charlie Brown.He couldn't resist trying to taste the pumpkin.

About the adoption-Our attorney was supposed to have a meeting with PGN concerning our case, but the meeting did not take place. We were told that he plans to have the meeting next week but we are taking that news with a grain of salt. All we can do is continue to pray and ask God for his will to be done in this and ask you all to please keep us in your prayers. We are so blessed to have so many family members, friends, and churches praying for us that we want to say a special thank you to all of you. You all really do help us and encourage us through this entire process.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

This past Sunday afternoon Wayne and I took Jacob to the fair. He seemed to enjoy it when he wasn't sleeping. He seems to like to watch people and the fair is a great place to people watch. He also rode his very first ride. He rode the carousel twice, once with me and once with Wayne. Here are some pictures of our day.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

I had hoped the next time I posted we would have received some very good news but as usual we have not. Instead again as usual when we get a tiny bit of good news it is always followed by a heaping pile of bad news. The information we received recently is no exception. We found out late last week that our case was kicked out of PGN on May 27. Yes, you did read that right, MAY 27!!! Our attorney never bothered to tell us this bit of information nor did PGN for some reason. Every time I called I was told we were on the second reviewers desk. When I called last week I was told that our case was out to be fixed and that it has been out since May. A lady at PGN looked into the case more and emailed me with the information that our case was kicked out due to a DNA issue. After having someone find out more details for us we found out that our birthmother interview never actually took place and that PGN requested the birthmother repeat the first DNA test because evidently there was an issue as to whether or not she was the correct birthmother. We are at a loss because the information we have from the lab from the first DNA shows that she is 99.99 something of a match. How much closer does she have to be?Wayne and I now belive that there is no way Madison will be home for Christmas and are even wondering if she will ever come home. We also don't know if our case is still considered to be "Grandfathered" in under the old laws since our birthmother interview did not take place before the deadline. If it is not then we do not know what will happen and neither does our agency. We need your prayers now more than ever to help us through this tough time and to try to stay focused on our faith and trusting in God that his will is done. I am personally at a loss as to what to think and feel anymore. I don't think that I can handle this emotional roller coaster any more and need some type of information that lets me know if she will ever come home or not.

With some good news....Jacob is doing wonderful and we are more in love with him everyday. We are enjoying being his parents and can't imagine life with out him. He is truly a blessing in our lives.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Jacob's baby dedication was this past Sunday on September 21. In the Baptist Church a baby is dedicated as a promise that his parents will raise him in Church and to know God and teach him the ways of our Lord. It is also a time when the Church family makes a proclaimation that they will assist the parents in teaching Jacob about Jesus and his love for us.

Our case is still sitting on the 2nd reviewers desk. I don't know what else to say except we praise the Lord we haven't had a previo (been kicked out). Please keep praying that we make it to the third reviewers desk really soon.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

On Monday we took the day and headed to the beach. It was Jacob's second time at the beach. We went for the first time when he was a little over a month old. This time he seemed to enjoy the water until a wave went over his head. Luckily Wayne was right there and able to pick him up immediately. He didn't really cry that much but you could tell he was not happy. Even with that he seemed to have a good time and enjoy the beach. That makes his mommy happy since I would live at the beach if possible. Here are a few pictures of him that day.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Wayne and I made our first trip to Guatemala exactly one year ago today. It was one year ago that we first met Madison in person and our love for her grew more than we could ever have imagined. We were on cloud nine that day. We had found out about Jacob a few weeks earlier (of course we didn't know Jacob would be Jacob at that time) and were meeting our daughter in person for the first time. Reality was setting in that we would have a family of four some day soon. The first few days our our visit were a little hard because she didn't know who we were but I still cherish those days as such a precious time. I remember the first time I told Madison that I was her Mommy and that I loved her. I was crying tears of Joy from finally getting to hold my daughter and now I am crying tears of sadness that it has been a year and we still don't have her home. I will always cherish this day as the first day that I ever held her in my arms. Wayne and I had such a wonderful time getting to know her during that week and left Guatemala being told that they would see us in December when we came to bring her home. We never would have even thought that a year later we would be waiting to bring her home. We don't understand why our case has taken so long but we do know that part of our hearts are in Guatemala with the most precious little girl you will ever meet. We are so blessed to have Jacob and I can't imagine not having him in my life but I need Madison to come home so that my heart will stop feeling broken. Please pray for Wayne and I because this is one of the hardest things we have ever gone through.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

These pictures of of the offices of the PGN in Guatemala. Our case file is in this building currently sitting on the second review's desk.

The reviewer's desks are up these stairs and to the right. Please pray that our case moves to the third reviewer really soon and that the third reviewer approves it in a very timely manner. We are about to go crazy waiting. I honestly don't know how much longer I can wait to bring Madison home. This has been one of the longest years so far and the thought of her not being home for another Christmas breaks our hearts.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Jacob has grown so much over the past month. We cannot imagine life without him and are so blessed to be his parents. His personality is beginning to really blossom and we really belive he might be becoming a big flirt. Boy are we going to be in trouble!!!Here is a picture of him eating oatmeal.

I called PGN on Friday and found out that our case file is still on the second reviewers desk. We have to go through 3 reviewers before our case can be approved and released from PGN. Please pray that we make it to the 3rd reviewers desk within the next few days. Also please pray that the reviewers are very kind and are not extremely picky and find something to kick our case out for. They have been known to kick cases out for literally not having an "i" dotted or a "t" crossed. We are praying that the reviewers see that all of the necessary steps have been taken, the proper paperwork has been completed and that we have waited a very long time, and that they will approve our case in a very timely manner. PGN has been known to take a very long time to move a case from one reviewer to another.

On another note we want to share a praise that all of the adoption cases from our agency were able to have their birhtmother interviews completed by the timeline. This is a HUGE praise because if the deadline was not met there was a big feeling of the unknown. Nobody really knew what might happen to the cases with the fear that they would be dropped and have to start all over. Praise the Lord that this did not happen and all the families have met the deadline.

We also received some very unexpected but greatly appreciated pictures of Madison. Here is one of her....she looks like she is having a good time.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

We had our birthmother interview yesterday. I got the official confirmation from PGN today. They told me that the interview was successful and now all we are waiting on is for PGN to sign off on our case. Once that is done Madison will officially be our daughter. We will still have a wait due to another DNA test, passport and then our US Embassy appointment but we can handle that wait as long as we know she is officially our daughter. Thanks for all your prayers and please keep praying that we successfully and make a speedy exit from PGN.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Wayne and I are hoping and praying that we have good news to share soon. We have been told that our birthmother interview was completed today but we want to verify that is true before we get our hopes up. Please pray for some good news to come very very very soon. We also want to ask you to please pray for the other families adopting through our agency that they all hear good news soon too.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

We just found out that our attorney in Guatemala has a lot of birthmother interviews that are not completed and ours is one of them. We also found out that if we don't have the interview completed by August 31, then the Guatemala government will require Madison to be moved from her foster home and into an orphanage. The Government will no longer recognize the use of foster families and will require all children put up for adoption to be in orphanages. We are soooo upset by this news and it breaks my heart to think of Madison going from her loving foster home to an orphanage.

We are trying our best to not lose faith but we can't help but feel that all of our prayers (and yours included) have gone unanswered. We know in our heads that this is not true and that God answers all prayers (just sometimes not the way we want him too) but honestly our hearts are broken and feel like our prayers have gone unanswered. I feel that I need God to hit me on the head with something and say "hey this is what I am doing with your case and trust me Madison is ok".

We are just so angry at our attonery and can't understand how he can let all of the children he is representing suffer for his laziness. (At least we feel he has been lazy). We are at a loss as to what to do next and what to pray anymore. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Madison, Mommy and Daddy love you and are doing everything we can to get you home.

We ask that you also pray for the other families our attorney represents, there are at least 19 (we think) other families with our adoption agency that he is working with.

Friday, August 8, 2008

We heard from our adoption coordinator Peggy the other day. She told us that Madison's birthmother has failed to respond to our attorney's attempts to contact her about the birthmother interview. He told Peggy that he now understands the problem and feels like the interview will take place very soon. We also found out that there might be a deadline for birthmother interviews of August 31. If the interview is not completed by the 31st then our adoption might be delayed even longer. We ask everyone to continue to pray for our case and that we don't have any more delays.

In the meantime Jacob has enjoyed playing with his cousins. His cousin Jordan made him laugh out loud for the fist time this past Monday.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

We are still waiting on some good news about our adoption case. In the meantime we are doing our best to leave it in God's hands and trust that he knows best. We are trying to stay positive and really appreciate all of the support we receive from everyone. Your words of encouragement and support have really helped us through this long journey. We are enjoying our time with Jacob and are still amazed at the miracle he is and can't wait for his big sister to meet him. It is hard to believe that he is almost 3 months old already. Time flys when you are not sleeping!

Friday, July 18, 2008

We wanted to thank everyone for their prayers on Thursday. We have not heard any positive news yet for our case but we did hear that there were two birth mother interviews this week so that is hopeful for us for the future. Wayne and I both believe in prayer and know that sometimes an answered prayer is not always the answer we are looking for or in the time we are lookng for. We are positive that God will answer the prayers so we are now just waiting to see his mighty work unfold. We will continue to pray and ask that you all do the same. We know that someday (we hope soon) we will be able to post some positive progress in our case.

We received a bulk update this weekend that let us know four cases moved forward this past week but unfortunately our case did not move forward. It gives us hope to know that cases are being moved and released and babies are coming home. God knows our hearts desire is to have Madison home as soon as possible but for whatever reason his timing is not the same as ours. We are going to do our best and wait this time out in a positive manner so please pray for us as well as our case.

As far as Madison, I received an email from the foster family, in very broken English, that let us know that Madison is doing well.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

"Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:19-20

We are asking for everyone to please pray for our adoption at exactly 12:00pm on Thursday, July 17. Wayne and I both believe greatly in the power of prayer and we believe that there is power when everyone prays together. We ask that you pray for our adoption case to start moving forward again instead of sitting at a stand still and that our attorney will be proactive instead of reactive (or non-active).

We found out from reading an official website of the CNA (Central National Authority -which is a Guatemalan governmental agency) that our attorney does not have to wait for someone to contact him for an appointment for the birthmother interview but instead he is to call them and schedule an appointment time. He does not seem to want to do this but instead wants to wait to be contacted. Wayne and I truly believe that our case will move quickly once we get the birthmother interview completed but unfortunately the Guatemalan President will not allow any adoption cases to move forward until the birthmother is interviewed to make sure she legally gave up her child for adoption.

Again, please set up some kind of reminder to remind yourself to pray for our adoption case on July 17 at 12:00pm. Wayne and I will be praying at that time as well. You may ask why we are waiting until Thursday. We wanted to give everyone a chance to read this and have a chance to join us.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers over the past year...they have really kept us going.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Jacob's first 4th of July was fairly quiet until the thunderstorm showed up. We went to Sandhills to listen to the live bands and watch the fireworks but just before dusk a thunderstorm showed up and we decided to go home. Jacob slept through the fireworks our neighbors shot off, so having to go home early wasn't that bad after all.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Jacob had his 2 month checkup today and passed with flying colors. He also received 3 shots which I think they were just as hard on me as they were on him. I hate needles and to see them poke my son with a needle was really hard. He is a trooper though; he was asleep in the waiting room just a few minutes after getting the shots and spent a good amount of time tonight playing. He is currently 14 pounds and 24 inches long. He is already wearing some size 6 months pajamas. They are a little big around but the length is perfect. It is hard to believe that it has been 2 months since he was born. We have had our ups and downs with finding a formula to work for him as well as dealing with some digestion problems but all in all he is a great baby. I find myself just staring at him wondering if he could get any cuter and thinking how lucky we are that God chose us to be his parents.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Ok, we officially have Jacob's passport in hand and are ready to go toGuatemala at any time. We are getting really frustrated to say the leastabout this process. As you can tell by the "ticker" up top we have been inthis process now for 1 year, 2months, and 4 days. WAY TOO LONG!!! It isPAST time to bring Madison home. I am almost positive that our case is ourattorney's oldest (most outstanding) case he has so why has he not given it priority? I understand that other families want their children home just as bad as we do but honestly is it really fair for a family who just started theprocess in December to be out of PGN and waiting on a visa already? Weknow that there are several families who started after we did and are already out of PGN. Yes, we do know that other cases have not had the paperwork issues we have and that those children might have been born in another area that is more adoption friendly when it comes to processing things timely butstill does it seem fair? I learned as a kid that life was not fair and itnever will be but does it have to be so unfair? We personally feel thatour attorney should be making our case a top priority for the simple fact that it has been in over a year since we started. One would think that it would be in the best interest of Madison to have the case completed beforemuch longer.Wayne and I have tried our best to stay positive during this entire process and have tried not to make too many waves. We have let our adoption agency know how frustrated we are and that we question if our attorney is working on our case like he should. We get told that yes he is working on it and thatthey understand our concerns, but I can't help but think that due to thelanguage barrier we are not always getting the entire truth. It is veryhard to have a confrontational conversation with someone when you don't speak the same language.Our attorney told our adoption agency that he should have our interview sometime this week but I can't help but think that he just says that to keepfrom having to answer any more questions. I can tell you that if we don'thave any answers by Monday at the latest (if it is possible with the holiday coming up our agency might be closed) we are wanting to try to find a way to have a conference call with our attorney and our coordinator.

I cannot stress enough on how much we need your prayers about the adoption at this time so please keep praying.

We also want to ask you to please pray for Jacob, he is still having reflux issues as well as "tummy trouble" which keeps him from eating what he should as well as sleeping

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

We received a medical update and pictures on Madison today. This update has been a very long time coming. We have been praying daily that we hear something soon about her well being and receive some recent pictures. She went to the doctor on the 16th and received a good report. She is 25 pounds and a little under 31 inches tall. She is walking and crawling, this great since she couldn't crawl at all when we were there in March. She was trying to walk and not crawl. She also finally has some teeth. In the pictures we can tell that she has at least two bottom teeth. We are so excited to be able to see how she has grown in the pictures and know that she is doing well. We continue to trust in God that he will bring her home very soon. Our attorney in Guatemala seems to think that our case will have the birthmother interview scheduled really soon and once that is over that our case won't be in PGN long at all. We are praying for her to come home really soon. Since January it has been really hard for us to not get upset and down about this entire process. We have seen other families be able to take their children home and wonder when we will get a break on our case and get to do the same. I have to admit though that if we were told we could have a child home by the end of the month but that it would not be Madison, I would have to tell them that I will continue to wait. I know Wayne feels the same way I do, any other child would not be Madison and Madison is meant to be a part of our family. While we wait we continue to pray that she comes home very soon and also for God to give us the strength to make it through the waiting period. We do not always know the rewards God has for us after a long waiting period but in this case we know that our reward is Madison. Wayne and I absolutely love her more than we can say. We know that everyone else will fall in love with her as well once she is home. We can't wait for Jacob to meet his big sister and for her to meet her little brother. I am sure that will be a day that I never forget.

Please continue to pray for us and that God will bring Madison home to us really soon.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Here is a picture of Wayne and Jacob on Father's Day. As you can tell they dressed alike for Wayne's first Father's Day. Everyone loved their shirts. Jacob is doing really well and changing each day. It is hard to believe that on Wednesday he will be 7 weeks old. I guess time really flies by when you are sleep deprived.

We are still waiting on news about Madison and/or our case. We are getting really frustrated because we have not received any information about Madison's well being since December. We thankfully had our visit in March which helped us get by a few months but now we are craving some information. It is so hard to know she is going through each day learning new things and we have no idea about her life for the past few months. We really need all of your prayers to help us through this time. We really feel in our hearts that we are getting close to the end but no news is really hard to handle.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

We found out that our attorney has had some interviews this week but unfortunately none of them have been for our case. We did hear that the interviews seem to be going well which is a good thing. We have also read through some other blogs that cases are being released from PGN so we really feel that as soon as we get our interview completed then it is only a matter of time before we will be out of PGN. Please pray that our case has an interview very soon. (As a reminder the interviews are when PGN interviews the birthmothers about the adoption as well as the attorney). Also please pray for Madison's birthmother during this process. We are still working on getting some information about Madison such as how big she is, is she walking, etc. Hopefully we will have some new information about her case and her very soon.

This past weekend we went to the beach with some of my family. Here are a few pictures of Jacob's first trip to the beach.

(I can't wait to be able to post Madison's first trip to the beach - praying that it will be this summer that I get to post those pictures)

We did not take him any further into the water which is good since he wasn't too happy with just that little bit. I am sure he will grow to love the ocean as much as his Mommy does.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

We heard from our adoption agency today that our attorney has still not been contacted with an interview time. Our coordinator has asked our translator to please ask our attorney how he feels about this entire process and what he feels about the rumors that are going around about the bribes,etc. We know that Guatemala is currently attempting to conduct over 2000 interviews because they have over 2000 current adoption cases open. We are asking everyone to please pray that our attorney receives an appointment time in the near future for our cases interview so that we might at least have that part over.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

We are still waiting for news about the adoption. All we know is that Guatemala is still currently auditing all adoption cases in PGN. The audit process does include interviews with the birthmothers and the attorneys. As of late last week our agency reported that our attorney had not been contacted with an interview time but as soon as they knew something they would let us know. I understand the reason for the audits and Guatemala wanting to make sure all adoptions are legit but each day means that it is that much longer until our case is finalized. Wayne and I are both trying hard to keep our chins up but having Jacob home has really made us realize how much we are missing with Madison. I always knew we were missing out on a big part of her growing but it never really hit home until we brought Jacob home and we see how much he grows and changes each day. We believe that Madison will be home someday and we pray that someday is very soon but all we can really do is trust in God's timing. I wish I could say that I understand his timing but I really can't and I struggle with it each day. I can only go on faith and trust that his timing is perfect no matter what I might feel right now. On another note after going through the pregnancy and then the delivery with Jacob it has made me really think about Madison's birthmother. Before, I knew she had to make a hard decision to give Madison up for adoption but I never really understood how hard of a decision it was until Jacob. I cannot imagine carrying him for 9 months, having my love for him grow with each day, going through labor, hearing him cry his first cry, and then giving him up for someone else to raise. She had to make a huge act of faith and trust a family she has never and probably never will meet that we would love her child and want to raise her child as our own. Our love for Madison grows each day and we know that some day we will be a family of four officially (in our minds and hearts we already are a family of four).

Please continue to pray for our adoption and that Madison will get to come home very soon. We also would like to ask you to pray for Madison's birthmother and the struggle she will have to go through of making the decision, of allowing Madison to be adopted, at least one more time (during her interview with PGN).

Jacob is doing good, he has reflux problems which are causing him some tummy troubles but he seems to be getting a little better. Please continue to pray for him as well.

Here is a picture of Jacob after a bath

A picture of Madison on her birthday (it seems so long ago that we took these pictures)